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Things I Neglected to Comment On…

In the midst of my stress over the last few weeks, from the personal issues of schoolwork, balancing free time with school time, to the public of seeing my pastor maligned in the news media, to hearing just this morning that the young man Chavez Clarke who was shot and killed in front of Chicago’s Simeon Career Academy on the South Side was the locker partner of my close friend’s younger brother, there are just some things I have neglected to comment. Be that as it is, I will start with the Chavez Clarke story as a spring board.

When are we going to change our mindset? As black people, a majority of us should be declared clinically insane. According to the pop culture definition, many of us keep on doing the same thing expecting different results. How is it that the 20th Chicago Public School student was killed and its only March–just wait until the weather gets warmer. One need only think back to last May when Blair Holt was shot on a CTA bus by another classmate. My close friend called and we talked quickly about it and I asked him, “Did we really go to school in good 4 years back in Chicago?” and he answered, “Yeah, we were lucky.” There are those out there who aren’t so lucky. When are our preachers, teachers and parents and adults going to take responsibility as a COMMUNITY for what we are producing. My friend gave an interesting reason as to why these last two years have been exceptional–we’re now seeing the product of crack babies who did not have the proper access to pre-natal and neo-natal care, and undiagnosed behavior disorders and the continuation of the evidence of a lack of family structure.

The Lebron James as King Kong. I think I neglected to comment on such ridiculousness because enough of the black blogosphere had commented on the absurdity of it. Furthermore, when my friend sent me an email that had link to a Jason Whitlock article [trying not to roll my eyes as I write his name] I knew that my two cents need not be added–so here’s my one cent. You look at the pictures and tell me what you see.

Some people need to just be quiet.

Barack Obama’s Speech on Race to the World. On March 18, 2008, at 11:15 am, my same close friend called me twice back to back because I didn’t answer the first time, but I guess it was just that good. Nevertheless, I did wake up and watched what for me was one of the best speeches on race that was not a speech that catered only to the concerns of the black community, but attempted to deal with white America’s angst toward African Americans. I thought it was wonderfully written and decently delievered. However, I had one concern–why that particular venue? Even though it was an Obama friendly crowd, it lacked the gusto and the resonance with the crowd that we’re used to seeing on TV.

And to address those that have said why wait until the Jeremiah Wright issue to have this speech on race, I say this was the absolute best time to have delivered it. If for no other reason, this was yet another hallmark moment, comparable to the racial divisions as seen by the O.J. Simpson verdict and the emotions that sparked the L.A. Riots of 1992 and the United States was privied to see what Second America sees on a daily basis.

The Absoulte, Unadulterated, Absurdity of FOXNews Network. It’s a foregone conclusion that many black people have a metaphorical bounty out for Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly, but this is where I’m getting on my soap box and staying for a while. There are a plethora of things wrong with the programming of Hannity and Colmes, namely Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and ohhh, just wait till I get to good ol’ Greta.

I guess it’s good that my parents don’t have cable (I grew up not having it) because my mother is convinced that ABC’s George Stephanopoulous is the anti-christ, she says it every chance she gets because of his betrayal to Bill Clinton, I’d love to hear what she has to say about Sean Hannity’s commentary. Problem number one with Hannity–he’s just a mess and too blinded to see the truth by white racism. But I begin to doubt the credibility of FoxNews because of the guests that come on Hannity and Colmes’ show

Jesse Lee Peterson is a regular on the show, and he’s just a foolish mess. His credential don’t even–oh wait, he has NONE. A quick Wikipedia or Google search will show that he’s primarily funded by Sean Hannity to fund whatever right-wing conservative “pick yourself up by your own bootstraps” organization. I mean the stuff that has come out of Jesse Lee Petersons mouth on FoxNews would make any self-respecting black person cringe. Even before the Jeremiah Wright issue, Hannity had carted him out and he was incredulous at Trinity for “even calling themselves black!” Despite my disdain for Youtube clips, which does nothing but give credence to codswallop, I will provide a bit of context for the so-called Reverend.

(and in this clip, I begin to wonder about the sanity of Marc Lamont Hill who continually subjects himself to the tyranny of FoxNews, but that’s another blog for another day.)

Erik Rush can be added to the list of tomfoolery that takes place on this network. As far as Hannity and Colmes is concerned they either have complete Uncle Tom’s like an Erik Rush or Jesse Lee Peterson who are nothing more than apologists for white America, or these right-wing neo conservatives like Michael Steele or Angela McGlowan. And then they find the extreme minority: a few Black Nationalists who want to exterminate all white people and put their faces on the television and then ask Peterson to speak against it–as though he’s speaking for all black people. Well, he’s not speaking for this Uppity Negro!

Then there’s Bill O’Reilly who I had let off the hook for the Ludacris comment way back some time because I watched the Oprah Show he had appeared on and I felt he proved himself a decent enough journalist, and he sounded intelligent and more over to me credible. But in the wake of the Jeremiah Wright situation, that credibility went out the door. I still try and figure out why do credible black people go on FoxNews, I mean wouldn’t that make sense for black folk of this country to do a Blackout against FoxNews and its various outlets? (Yes I’m talking to Warren Ballentine right now) Call for all credible black people to out right boycott going on the show and for blacks to stop watching it. For the life of me I can’t figure out why Dr. Marc Lamont Hill goes on the show, why I saw Hermene Hartman of N’Digo Magapaper in Chicago, Dr. Obery Hendricks (and he let fool fest Bill O’Reilly mispronounce his own name, wtf?!?!?!) and Rev. Timothy MacDonald of a church here in Atlanta–all who I consider credible–on a FoxNews program!!!

Finally, there’s good ole Greta Van Susteren, and her crooked mouth! I think it’s painfully evident that she should not even have a show, let alone even be on television. There’s no redeeming factor about seeing her as an anchor or as a news show host–she’s quite drab. She needs to take part in TBS’ Movie in a Makeover or she needs to be walking on the streets of Time Square or Rockefeller Plaza and someone needs to ambush her for one of those street makeovers in an hour and do some damage.

And then her mouth is crooked.

Oh well.

But it reeks of bad journalism the way she wasn’t able to handle Al Sharpton. I mean, this is Al Sharpton–come on now. As much as I like the guy and like what he’s doing, and support him 9 out of 10 times (however I’m currently standing with my sisters on this one issue down in South Florida), I mean if you allowed an Al Sharpton to catch you up on your own show…well…that just doesn’t speak well of you dearie.

What is Hillary Clinton Up To? We have some polls saying that Obama is doing better than Clinton in national polls, and for all intents and purposes it appears that Obama has exited this Jeremiah Wright controversy unscathed (but clearly his pastor is quite hurt, and the church is still reeling) which I will personally say was an amazement to me–I was ready to dust off my bugle and start playing Taps for the brotha. But I’m glad I didn’t. I tried to figure out why Hill’ry was mum until the picture of Rev. Wright and Bill Clinton shaking hands during perhaps a prayer breakfast or lunch or dinner in the midst of the Monica Lewinsky scandal in 1998. Not to mention, that what could she really say lest she herself have a misspeak and be labeled—oh Gawwwd—a racist.

Moreover, what is she doing right now as she’s running like a front-runner when clearly she’s NOT going to have enough votes going into the convention, and now Obama has toned it down and he’s running like an underdog. I heard one clip of him concerning McCain’s Iraq war plan for one-hundred years, and he said that that was an issue he’d debate with McCain in the general elections and then he hastily added “if I get the nomination.”

New York Governor David Patterson. Am I the only one just a little bit miffed by the candid approach Gov. Patterson has taken as far as his first weeks are concerned? I’m waiting in tip-toe anticipation to see what he let out this week. The first week it was that both he AND his wife had participated in extra marital affairs. Well…I guess I’ll reserve my truly personal comments to myself on that one. Then last week, he told us that he had done cocaine. This kind of let me know that he had hung around white folk if he was doing the powdered brand–or maybe he just knew that cocaine was something that those in Albany could identify with, perhaps it was still a shrewd move. We shall see, its just interesting to see two black governors of neighboring states (the other being Massachusetts Governor Duval Patrick).

Black Entertainment Television and Soulja Boy Tellem.I admit it–sometimes I watch BET, its one of my plenary indulgences. Most of my friends get a flurry of text messages because if I’m actually watching some of its original programming, I’m sending hot text messages about the abysmal nature of BET. But, to somewhat echo my sentiments in the first of these–we are now seeing the product of a generation birthed solely on the garbage of BET. Soulja Boy at 18, and others his age are not the product of good BET, but rather of the original programming of BET Uncut where Nelly’s “Tip Drill” and Luda’s “Pussy Poppin'” and Khia’s “My Neck, My Back.”

Without going into deep philosophical thoughts surrounding those music video’s, the fact that it was on the air and young kids and teenagers would either stay up and watch it (which is what I did at 19 when those videos came out) or sneak and watch it. Now we have a “Crank Dat Soulja Boy” which were the musings of a then 16 or 17 year old kid with uncut lyrics that had he been of age included “superman dat hoe” but still the intention is there–and by now most know the metaphor behind “superman dat….” is.

Now we have his latest video “Yaaaahhhhh” and who gives a crap how many a’s and h’ its supposed to be. I just had a particular problem with the end of the video. Now you watch the video and you tell me–is this what we’ve produced? Is this the best that we can do? Am I living in a bubble–or is he and the people of his generation? Is this what we celebrate in the black community? I mean, we’ve got to do better.